“Every time you’re pushed to your limits, that’s when you become Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, Super Saiyan God,” he said. “There’s so many transformations. You get so many power-ups when you fight, and adversity is something people have the tendency to shy away from, hiding from the fact that they’re anxious or stressed, but that’s what makes you grow. If we didn’t have stress, we wouldn’t exist as a species.”
As it stands, Jourdain says he is at Super Saiyan 3 right now, far from his peak. His self-belief, however, is higher than ever coming off a submission victory over Lando Vannata in April. The win via guillotine made Jourdain just the second man to finish Vannata, joining Tony Ferguson in rarified company.
International Fight Week with Megan Olivi
Finishing “Groovy” is definitely an accomplishment on which to hang one’s hat, and Jourdain accepts the difficult reality that comes in tandem with impressive victories.
“My preparations just became harder knowing that every time I fight and I win, I’m just fighting bigger and bigger monsters,” Jourdain said. “When they call me and they say, ‘Hey, do you want to fight “Hurricane” Shane Burgos? Not many people want to fight him.’ I was like, ‘(Gasps) Of course.’ Now I know that I can submit these guys and knock them out, I’m pretty confident going into that horrible matchup.”
This fight has some extra sauce on it for a couple of reasons. First, Jourdain lauds Burgos for his ability to eat shots (often with a smile) and remain in constant forward motion. Second, the fight takes place in Burgos’ home state of New York, and while Jourdain has experience fighting in enemy territory (Desmond Green in Rochester, New York, and Dooho Choi in Korea), he is eager to feel the energy the Bronx native cultivates inside UBS Arena.
